Environment

5:05 pm

Tue June 25, 2013

Obama's Climate Strategy Doesn't Require Congressional Approval

President Obama unveils his plan on climate change Tuesday at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The president laid out his plan to reduce carbon pollution and to prepare the country for the impacts of climate change.

Alex WongGetty Images

President Obama unveiled a sweeping plan Tuesday designed to deal with climate change. For the first time, carbon emissions from power plants would be regulated. The policy, which can be implemented by the administration without congressional approval, calls for a broad range of actions, including steps to deal with extreme weather events that are already occurring.

It wasn't a coincidence that the president chose to give this speech to a young crowd — at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. And it may also have been deliberate to give the speech outside, as the temperature hit 92 degrees. The president said he is taking these measures to address climate change to protect the world that these young adults — and their children — will inherit.

"As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say, 'We need to act,' " Obama said. "I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing."

And while the president made clear that his national climate action plan wouldn't come close to solving the problem, it's a step in the right direction, he says. First, and most controversially, it calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop standards for emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants.

There are already rules to restrict mercury and other toxic emissions from those smokestacks, Obama noted, "but power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air for free. That's not right, that's not safe, and it needs to stop."

His plan would encourage more efficient use of energy, and also lead to a transition toward cleaner sources of power. Obama noted that wind and solar energy supplies doubled during his first term in office.

"The plan I'm announcing today will help us double again our energy from wind and sun," he said. That includes opening up more federal lands so private companies can build wind farms and solar plants there.

A second major element of the plan calls for actions to help the nation cope with weather-related changes that are already taking place. That means preparing farmers to cope better with droughts, and to help local governments be better prepared for weather disasters.

"What we've learned from Hurricane Sandy and other disasters is that we've got to build smarter, more resilient infrastructure that can protect our homes and businesses and withstand more powerful storms," he said.

The final element of the plan is to step up international efforts, including a new climate treaty. Scientists project that carbon dioxide will continue to build up in the atmosphere even as the United States and Europe constrain their emissions. That's because China and India are rapidly pulling hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and they're burning a lot of fossil fuels in the process.

Obama anticipated resistance to his ideas. Many Republicans in Congress don't even acknowledge climate change as a serious issue. But all the particulars of his program can be implemented without involving Congress. Obama said he also would welcome measures from Capitol Hill if attitudes there were to shift back to the days when the concern about climate change was truly a bipartisan issue.

"Nobody has a monopoly on what is a very hard problem," Obama said. "But I don't have much patience for anyone who denies that this challenge is real. We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society."

Obama also made passing reference to the Keystone XL Pipeline, saying the pipeline from Canada to Texas would only be approved if it does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.

The most controversial element of Obama's new policy is the new set of rules that would limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

The Obama plan simply directs the EPA to come up with those emission rules, but doesn't specify what they should be.

Scott Segal, a lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani, a firm that represents power companies, says that with any policy, "the devil is in the details."

Make the rules too lenient and you don't restrict carbon emissions; make them too onerous, Segal says, and manufacturers might move overseas in search of cheaper power. And if they do that, he says, "the irony is the carbon footprint of the American economy gets worse, not better."

The president anticipated such criticism. It's the same argument industry has made about every clean-air rule, Obama noted, and it has never come to pass.

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, also sees the control of power plant emissions as the most important element of the president's plan.

"I think it's a major step forward," Beinecke says. She anticipates a fight to make those standards tough enough to make a dent in carbon pollution, but says that's familiar territory for environmental groups like hers.

"Our job is making sure [the standards are] as strong as possible," she says.

A draft of the new regulation is supposed to be ready in a year, and the White House hopes to see a final rule in 2015.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

President Obama unveiled a wide-ranging new plan today designed to address climate change. For the first time, carbon emissions from power plants would be regulated. The policy would be implemented without congressional approval. And it includes steps to deal with extreme weather events that are already occurring.

Here's NPR's Richard Harris.

RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: It wasn't a coincidence that President Obama chose to give this speech to a young crowd at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It may also have been deliberate to give the speech outside while the temperature hit 92 degrees. The president said his measures to address climate change are done to protect the world that these young adults and their children will inherit.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say we need to act.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And after the applause died down, he continued...

OBAMA: I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing.

HARRIS: And while the president made clear that his national climate action plan wouldn't come close to solving the problem, he said it's a step in the right direction. First, and most controversially, it calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop standards for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. He noted there are already rules to restrict mercury and other toxic emissions from those smokestacks.

OBAMA: But power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air for free. That's not right. It's not safe. And it needs to stop.

HARRIS: The plan would also encourage more efficient use of energy and also lead to a transition toward cleaner sources of power. Obama noted that wind and solar energy supplies doubled during his first term in office.

OBAMA: The plan I'm announcing today will help us double again our energy from wind and sun.

HARRIS: That includes opening up more federal lands so private companies can build wind farms and solar plants there.

A second major element of the plan calls for actions to help the nation cope with weather-related changes that are already taking place. That means preparing farmers to cope better with droughts and to help local governments be better prepared for weather disasters.

OBAMA: And what we've learned from Hurricane Sandy and other disasters is that we've got to build smarter, more resilient infrastructure that can protect our homes and businesses and withstand more powerful storms.

HARRIS: Obama anticipated resistance to these ideas. In fact, his program was designed entirely to be done with measures that the White House can take without involving Congress. That's because many Republicans in Congress don't even acknowledge climate change as a serious issue. But Obama said he also would also welcome measures from Capitol Hill if that attitude were to shift back to the days when it truly was a bipartisan issue.

OBAMA: Nobody has a monopoly on what is a very hard problem, but I don't have much patience for anyone who denies that this challenge is real. We don't have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Obama also made passing reference to the Keystone XL Pipeline, saying the Canada-to-Texas pipeline would only be approved if it does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.

The most controversial element of this policy is the new rules that would limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Scott Segal is a lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani, who represents power companies.

SCOTT SEGAL: The devil is in the details with any policy.

HARRIS: The Obama plan simply directs the EPA to come up with those emission rules but doesn't specify what they should be. Make them too lenient and you don't restrict carbon emissions. Make them too onerous and, Segal says, manufacturers might move overseas in search of cheaper power.

SEGAL: And if they do that, the irony is the carbon footprint of the American economy gets worse, not better.

HARRIS: That's similar to the argument industry has made about every clean air rule, Mr. Obama noted, and it's never come to pass.

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, also sees the emissions control on power plants as the most important element of the president's plan.

FRANCES BEINECKE: I think it's a major step forward.

HARRIS: She anticipates a fight to make those standards tough enough to make a dent in carbon pollution. But she says that's familiar territory for environmental groups like hers.

BEINECKE: Our job is making sure they're as strong as possible.

HARRIS: A draft of those rules is supposed to be ready in a year. And the White House optimistically hopes to see a final rule in 2015.